Why Softbank Turned to France for an Emotional Robot

In Japan, robots play important roles in factories, at street festivals, in movies and comic books, and even in themed restaurants where humans impersonate machines instead of the reverse.

With robots all around, why did Softbank Corp., the Japanese telecommunications company, turn to a French startup to create a robot that Softbank hopes Japanese consumers will welcome into their homes? Softbank this week introduced the humanoid machine, called Pepper, at a news conference in Tokyo, billing it as the first robot that can sense people’s feelings.